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MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM MOVIES

Cinema is often a bold reflection of the world we live in. It speaks for the voiceless, aspires for the meek and brings hope to the despairing. Cinema is all encompassing, cinema is liberating! Wouldn’t a medium as powerful as this, definitely have a lesson or two for management professionals as well? Ever wondered how Sidney Lumet’s ‘12 Angry Men’ can be linked to performance appraisals? What can Mickey and Malory from the controversial ‘Natural Born Killers’ teach young management professionals? What links the movie ‘Boyhood’ and ‘Business Continuity Planning’? Management Lessons from Movies is your concise, easy-to-read book of movies and principles in management.

"A simple, but effective concept to tie in movies and management lessons - as a movie buff and a CEO this book resonated with me totally! I have learnt a lot from this book and also got a great list of movies to watch which I haven’t watched till now. A must-read book for both movie lovers and management aspirants alike (may give parents a new reason to send kids to watch movies). Kudos to Gokul for bringing his passions together to make this happen”

Girish Ramdas, CEO, Magzter Inc. New York

"Even before turning into a filmmaker, films were not just a ‘Timepass’ activity for me. Films were always lessons to me in many ways and I strongly believe the kind of films one watch has the potential to change one’s personality, thought process, life style, etc. Gokul’s book, ‘Management Lessons from Movies’, emphasizes this fact in style. The list of films he has introduced and the management lessons he has inferred from them are really interesting to read and also gives a strong motive to watch those films. I have seen only a few in the list and sure will be watching some of the films listed soon. I am sure every reader will feel the same way. That I think makes this book a unique and very interesting one”.

Karthik Subbaraj, Filmmaker

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It's like having a friend sitting next to you in a theatre, whispering to you about the film

Cinema is a "powerful media". Any oppressive ruler knows it well, that's why they censor it, ban the films they don't like. You can use it to rekindle patriotism as the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has done with the screening of "National Anthem" before every film that's shown in public. You can educate the masses as with the Anti-Smoking awareness message shown during every film screening in India. We all get a sense of accomplishment after seeing our favourite Hero punishes the bad and brings justice to the victim.
Yes, there is something magical about the 80 feet high silver screen in theatres. Gokul Santhanam, a self-proclaimed movie zealot thinks the magic can traverse from Romance & Action to imparting Business Lessons. In his book "Management Lessons from Movies", he showcases 33 World Cinemas and 100 management tips that you can learn from them.

Reading the book you don't feel bored, it's like a friend sitting next to you in a theatre whispering to you about the film. Gokul doesn't preach anything here and that's a relief. He is having a conversion with you about a film, the story, what he liked in it, what we can learn from watching the film and a list of 3 to 4 movies which are similar to the one he is currently writing about.

Look at this example. Many of us believe we don't have resources, we have many obstacles in front of us that are preventing us from following our passion in life; these didn't stop Jafar Panahi, a world renowned Director who is banned by Government of Iran, from making "Taxi (2015)" - a film that was entertaining and carried a subtle message against the prevalent situation in the country. Movies like "Pather Panchali (1955)" & "Close-Up (1990)" were also made on shoe-string budgets and carried strong social messages.

Be forewarned! You will spend 200 hours in watching many of the films talked here. As Gokul says in the book, it's time that's invested in your learning and for your career growth.

- By Venkataranganon on 7 February 2017

Great read.. for movie buffs and non-movie buffs.. to get started!

We often undermine the positive power of movies… after all ‘We are what we think… with our thoughts we make the world”. This book not only gives a bucket list of movies that will nourish you... but also provides a sneak peek through summarized lessons. The concepts are categorized beautifully providing a steady flow to the reader. If you want to get enthralled… learn… get inspired… pick this book!

- By Amazon Customer on 21 February 2017

I'm not a great fan of movies but after reading this book I ...

Finished reading this book twice. The linking of movies to management lessons is outstanding, I'm not a great fan of movies but after reading this book I have actually started to follow all the movies mentioned in the book. Its a great read!

- By Marshal on 21 February 2017

An excellent book !!! Love the title 😊

An excellent book and must be read by everyone particularly the management people to maintain balance and to understand the importance of self development irrespective of the situation & environment. Altogether one of the best book - Logical, structured & with lots of examples.

- By Sandy on 3 April 2017

Movies and management???? this needs to ...

Movies and management????this needs to made as a reference book for all aspiring management graduates.Gokul gr8 job man.My son aged 9 was amused seeing title and now he is enjoying reading this book.

- By Deepa on 4 February 2017

Realities brought out

It's more useful. Content is good. The lessons are related compared to movies. New trend to motivate youngsters turning future into right path of career. A guide to every youngster and also people in the management.

- By Deeksha Saikumar on 23 March 2017

Good mix of movies and management lessons interweaved in a ...

Good mix of movies and management lessons interweaved in a simple and nice read. An eclectic collection of movies with a brief review and also how situations from the movies can be used in management.

- By Baskaran Rajaramanon on 3 February 2017

Quite an interesting light read

The crisp way in which Gokul has penned down the script of each of the movie and the manner in which he connects them to the takeaways is quite interesting.

- By Aditya Meher M on 1 May 2017

A good book.

I recommend this book for someone who wants's learn Management but doesn't want spend 2years. To better understand this book you need to watch the movies.

- By nagputtion on 7 April 2017

Amazing book

People just watch movies for fun and forget about it. This book explains the inner meaning of the movie which we don't realise while watching the movie..hope to see sequels.

- By Janardan N Rao on 17 February 2017

A Finely Crafted Book

This book is a blend of Management lessons & movie, which would change your view point about watching movies as entertainment, after reading this finely crafted book by Gokul Santhanam ,you would start probing management lessons from every movies you watch. Thumbs Up.

- By Clement on 13 November 2017

What wonderful way to learn

Just Finished reading .. what wonderful way to learn . For movie lover like . The list of movie was like finding gold mine

- By Deepu Pillai on 11 March 2017

Excellent read, movies are not just for entertainment there ...

Excellent read, movies are not just for entertainment there are lots more in it. This book explains it all. Thanks Gokul

- By Thamil on 25 March 2017

200 English must watch movies.

I purchased this book from a book fair. A wonderful blend of movies and corporate lessons. Very simple yet strong. We watch movies as part of our entertainment routine. However never stumbled upon the thought on how one could relate certain classic movies with management lessons. Very Interestingly the author has packaged the book by taking 100+ movies and associating with corporate discipline, process, challenges etc. Good read!!! Most importantly it can also be considered as a handbook which talks about 200 must watch movies before you die!!!

- By MadB on 29 January 2017

3 times already?!

I'm not a voracious reader, but when it comes to watching movies I make it a point to watch at least one a day. Management lessons from Movies is a boon to most of the movie maniacs. Highlighting many of the best movies of all time and interlinking them with day to day managerial aspects is the key talent of the author. The book clearly depicts and describes how the author has deciphered every scene from the movies mentioned and how beautifully he could connect them with our day to day life.

To all the passionate movie lovers out there, I'm sure this book will grab your attention, make you realize the purpose of movies and how one could possibly think of connecting one of the best pivotal scenes as a managerial tip for your business/profession. Just like how I watch a good movie more than 6 times, I have already read this book thrice. Here's your chance!!!

- By Amazon Customer on 26 March 2017

it felt like I was watching the movies

As I was reading this book, it felt like I was watching the movies...recollecting scene by scene from where the reference points in the book have been made. It does take a hell lot of movie watching and that too umpteen number of times, to exactly take a scene and relate it to the corporate world. I loved the way the parallels were drawn. Its an eye-opener for sure. Some of the movies I had not watched, so tried to get a copy of the movie first, watched it and then referred back to the book. Great lessons on lateral thinking. Great work Gokul and thanks for the effort of putting it all together neatly in a book!!!

- By Jayashree Mudaliar on 10 April 2017

Bite size read on world cinema <=> management tips

I have to admit that I read this book in two sittings! Very precise in what it has to convey and draws correlation to movies and Mgt. what's special about this book is that, over and above the management tips that comes as perks, it has a list of world class cinema that you cant miss. Worth talking about it to all my movie freaks. Cheers Gokul! keep em coming...

- By Amazon Customer on 21 February 2017

Every page is a movie!!

An interesting book for movie lovers. Its throws bait with 'why watch this film' and keeps you hooked till the 'end'. Feels like watching movies back-to-back.

- By Amazon Customer on 31 March 2017

That had 2 of my all time favorite movies listed

"Seriously??Management lessons from movies??? !" This was my initial reaction to the book! Yeah, maybe you could talk about the usual team work and leadership lessons so often associated with Cinema, but wasn't a promise of 100 management tips taking it a bit too far?! I decided to purchase the book, to see for myself what the author had concocted. With a delightful cover, that had 2 of my all time favorite movies listed, I found all the more reason to go ahead with the buy.

The book opens in true filmi style. There is a certificate not from the censor board, but from stalwarts in the field of cinema and publishing. This is followed by a curtain riser and the book credits! Now, the author has designed the book exceptionally well. Each movie is a chapter( There are 33 movies). The chapter comprises the plot summary, why watch the movie, What we learn & finally similar genre recommendations. Thus, you would have covered 100 management lessons, and another 200 movie recommendations! The font is easy on the eye, paper quality is excellent and the illustrations & design are very cute. Something interesting I noted was, each chapter, has the original poster of the movie printed. The book closes with a very useful Index on Learning which can be used for future references.

The book can be completed in a single sitting. It is riveting, very very easy to understand and simply fascinating. I mean, who would ever think "Pulp Fiction" is also a lesson in personal branding , or The Tramp's "Modern Times" is a classic case of failed competency assessment! The author also throws light on a lot of technical aspects of film making. I now know what is "Hyperlink Cinema", The "Rashomon effect" etc. and I can't wait to show this off in my next meeting! :) The authors grasp of the intricacies of cinema & management principles leave you spell bound!
This book is a must have if you like cinema/ management or if you are the type who just likes reading! I only have one regret... I wish the author had published this 5 years back when I was doing my MBA! Management principles would have been so much more fun! Understanding the perception errors,team management, resource planning etc. would have been a cake walk had we been introduced to it through MLM!

This book is indeed Management Lessons from Movies - Seriously! :)

- By Shalom Thomas on 20 January 2017

Great narration of lessons from movies...MUST Read

Finished reading this book...Each movie presented in the book are outstanding for its genre, and linking management ideas to key characters in the movie are thoughtfully narrated by Gokul as key take-away. This book will make a good read for anyone interested in watching movies, direction, script writing, and/or screenplay as most of the movies covered in each chapters are worth mentioning. While there are other Hollywood stories that must have inspired us in our life but this book covers amazing movies from other languages - Korean, Japanese, French, Hindi which balances the reader's interest and makes it further more engaging too...

- By Krish on 20 January 2017

Simple, to the point, crisp and great insights on management.

You would think movies are about entertainment, fancy statements, fashion, a way to break monotony and nothing to take away! These were precisely my thoughts; and if you feel the same, well, think again! This book through the author proved me completely wrong. You would never know that a movie like Forest Gump talks about, keeping promises & speaking your mind while Pulp Fiction talks about personal branding, being focused and multitasking!! The book sure is a curtain raiser that would raise your eyebrow on learning management lessons through entertainment. Simple to understand, crisp, great insights, index on learning (my personal favorite section) to allow you quick reference on your management ideas, recommend movies and soo much more all packed in a 136 page book. Coming from an author well known in the world of human resources, this book is a must have irrespective of the industry you work in and if you love movies this is an icing in your library!

- By Ben Subbarao on 27 January 2017

Must Read for movie loving professionals

Management Lessons from Movies is very interesting read for movie loving professionals. Not only for professionals, the lessons taught in this book will also help students, businessmen, salesmen, etc. With dozens of movies watched, this book gives hundred more recommendations. Few information about some movies were quite amazing. Few examples are 1. Memento - Budget 2. Cast Away - FedEx didn't pay anything 3. Boyhood - Contract if Director dies 4. Taxi - Sunroof for bright light. Being a big fan of Groundhog day, I never knew there were these many similar movies. 6 perspective errors in 12 angry men is the highlight & my personal pick from the book. The only annoying this I felt in the book is references to awards. As it appears very frequently it gives a boring feel. Maybe it should have moved to right aligned footer section under paragraphs where time, director, languages were mentioned.

- By Gokhul on 30 January 2017

MBA through the movies

A masterfully written book by a passionate professional. Management lessons from movies is a very simple and easy to relate book written by Gokul Santhanam, whose passion for movies and management is very eloquently bought out. The concepts and the way they are related to the movies are really well thought out and articulated. The succinct review of the movie, the additional work from the director, reveal the eye for detail that Gokul has as well as the difference he makes in people's lives by practicing the various concepts. The ability to relate the concepts to the specific movies is outstanding. I loved reading the book and would strongly recommend the same to everyone. Looking forward to reading the next one Gokul.

- By Kaushik Gopalan on 1 February 2017

I am searching words in dictionary to praise Gokul for this awesome book and yet to find

Hi Viewers, I bought this book on saturday (28.Jan.2017) from Amazon and I did not keep the book down till I complete.I am searching words in dictionary to praise Gokul for this awesome book and yet to find. In India movies are meant to entertain, but Gokul's perception about learning skills from movies is different thinking.

Most appreciable thing is movies which have messages are considered as art movies (Parallel movies), but the movies selected by Gokul are commercially success movies which breaks the myth only art movies will have messages. Topics are well ordered and the finest part is the index.

I am expecting more good books from Gokul in near future.

- By Anand B on 30 January 2017

Differentiated Learning

Look for a lesson in every story told. Gokul champions this cause in his first outing as an author. Trying to grasp management lessons, some known, some unknown from the world movies. With his lucid yet effective writing, learning can be lot more fun, if colleges try to use Gokul's thought process of finding lessons in movies. Cheers to Gokul for a differentiated learning experience.

- By Amrita Lobo on 27 February 2017

Read this book, if you believe that movie watching is a waste of time. Your perspective will change for sure.

I have always wondered why people watch so many movies and this book has helped cleared that doubt. My perspective on movie watching has changed post reading this book authored by a movie buff who watches on an average 200 plus world movies every year.

1. The book talks about the various genres of movies and the technical aspects.

2. The analysis of the world cinema and best directors from different countries and their creativity and effort in the movie making was an eye opener like the part were Christopher Nolan struggled to do his first movie on a low budget from his garage. Or how the Iranian director overcomes the ban on movie making and yet comes out with an award winning film.

3. The book has 100 management tips from 33 must watch world cinema. As a trainer myself, I am going to be using a lot of these management tips from the movies in my sessions :).

You will love this book if you are movie buff or a team manager or a management person.

- By viji on 2 February 2017

Awesome book!

Coming from a movie buff, this book is a simple yet fantastic read. I've known Gokul for a while and adore and respect him as a manager who I worked for and a mentor. He's clearly taking this to the next level with this book, which I absolutely enjoyed reading. I don't watch movies, but guess what I am not inspired to do this weekend???

- By Nars on 2 February 2017

I enjoyed reading it in English English

Gokul has mastered writing skills as well. His format is simple, his language simpler, his inferences are gems. I enjoyed reading it in English English